YOUNGSTOWN Carter weighs quitting

Monitoring the city program and keeping a seat on the park board could be a conflict of interest.
By ROGER G. SMITH
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- William M. Carter got what he wanted now that the city's minority business program will become part of all park department construction contracts.
His victory, however, may cost him his seat on the park board.
After a year of pushing by Carter, the law department has directed the park board to include the city minority program in all its construction projects. The rules require part of a contract be given to minority companies when possible.
Carter's job with the Youngstown Area Development Corp., however, includes monitoring compliance with the city minority program.
The Ohio Ethics Commission says Carter's job and seat on the board could constitute a legal conflict of interest. Even if there is no legal conflict, there could be the appearance of impropriety, the agency said.
Carter said that means he probably will resign from the park board by year's end.
He isn't bitter, having considered that he could lose his seat before he began pushing to bring the minority program into park contracts. The program is worth losing the seat, Carter said.
"I understood that last year," he said. "It was the right thing to do."
YADC's board of directors is exploring the state ethics commission's position and alternatives. One possibility is finding another agency to monitor park contracts. That way, Carter could stay on the board since he wouldn't be overseeing compliance.
That may not be possible, however. If no other agency is found, Carter said he would resign.
The issue should be resolved in another few weeks, he said.
Delays: Joseph McRae, city parks director, told the board Thursday that the minority issue is one of several holding up bidding on four years' worth of playground improvement project contracts.
Projects budgeted from mid-1998 to mid-2000 totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars have architects designing them. There are no contracts with construction companies, however, to do the work, he said.
Projects budgeted from mid-2000 to mid-2002 don't even have architects yet, McRae said.
He hopes all four years' worth of contracts can go to bid in the coming months and most of the work be done during 2002.
rgsmith@vindy.com